Bewildered Soldier
by Pyrebender
Summary: After the fall of Ba Sing Se a FN ship arrives. Onboard Azula has a surprise for her brother. How will this affect the war and the futures of our favorite characters?
1. Something isn't Right

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or any related materials

Chapter 1: Something isn't Right

Zuko rose from his troubled sleep, and walked numbly to the balcony of his room at the palace of Ba Sing Se. The sun was just beginning to break the horizon, casting a red hue on the scattering clouds. The horizon was burning red, a good omen in the Fire Nation. He only wished he felt the contentment at seeing such a display. He absently wondered what that Water Tribe girl, Katara, thought of it.

He softly scoffed at his own thoughts. He murmured, "She's of the Water Tribe. She rises with the moon, and is likely still asleep."

He dressed and proceeded down the halls to the dining hall. He found his sister, Azula, sitting in a plush chair at the head of the table going over a number of parchments. Mai was sitting to her right, fingering her knives. Ty Lee was sitting to Azula's left juggling a few pieces of fruit from a bowl on the table. He gave a small mental sigh and took the seat next to Ty Lee.

The bubbly girl glanced over and saw the dark rings about his dull eyes. She stifled the slight shiver that ran down her back as she felt the conflicted and troubled aura emanating from the young man. She had to admit that she'd felt rather sorry for him when he was banished, and now she could see how torn he was about what he'd done.

Azula looked up from one of the parchments with her usual cruel smile. She announced, "Wonderful news, the ship that will take us back to the Fire Nation, or rather to the capital as this is now a part of the Fire Nation, arrived in the harbor this morning. We will depart for home this afternoon. Minister Qin shall oversee this city and direct our forces south to complete our conquest of the continent.

"Zuzu," She smirked at his cringe from the name. "We will be taking the traitor with us for trial. Also, I have a surprise for you on board the ship."

Zuko didn't like the smile on her face.

Iroh covered his eyes at the light of the lantern held by the Dai Li agent at the door of his cell. For three days he'd been sitting there in that small room, his mind reliving every moment that had lead up to his nephew's decision. What had he done wrong for Zuko to have chosen the path he did?

He was roughly lifted by the arms, the agents deftly binding his wrists behind him. Remembering the stunt in the tearoom, one agent wrapped a stone band about Iroh's mouth. He was lead into the hallway to find a group of about ten Dai Li, all standing there with that typical impassive expression.

He was taken out of the dungeons only to find a waiting prison cart, the metal door already open. He let out a loud grunt as they threw him in. As he felt the cart begin down the cobble stone road, he couldn't help but wonder where they were taking him. They had kept him at the palace dungeons so he assumed it possible they were transferring him to the Lake Laogai facility. He also considered the prospect that he was being taken to be executed. Although he wouldn't have put it past his niece to have had him paraded about Ba Sing Se, allowing the people to throw things at him as retribution for his siege upon the city.

He was shaken from his thoughts as the cart came to a stop. The sun through the scattered clouds was refreshing as he stepped down onto the dock. His gaze fell upon the ship beside them, Azula's ship. So they were taking him back to the Fire Nation where he'd be used to further his brother's public image. He turned and saw four figures approach.

"Time to go home, _Uncle_." Azula said the last word as if it disgusted her. Likely, it did. She considered his regard for the other nations weakness, and if there was one thing Azula hated it was weakness.

He noted that the four were all in Fire Nation clothing once more. The three girls were wearing their standard attire, his eyes looked over to his nephew to see the young man donning a Fire Nation armor similar to his old one. Zuko was looking almost anywhere but at him. From the look on the young man's face he too was having a hard time coming to terms with what he did. Iroh couldn't help the mental chuckle. The boy was of an old and dieing breed in their nation.

In the old days, particularly before the war, people from their nation were known as wearing their hearts on their sleeves. That's not to say that they weren't disciplined and could be rather stoic, but their emotions and personalities were like the fire they controlled. They would flare at times. It had only been in the past couple centuries that the cold manipulative sort had started to become common. Besides, Zuko had never been very good at hiding his feelings, especially from people that knew him well.

Iroh was suddenly led after them up the gangplank, and pushed down the corridors to the brig below deck. It was actually rather humorously ironic to him. All these years, and more pointedly in the last few months, he'd been trying to get his nephew to accept and appreciate the other nations' cultures, like he had. Now here he was on a Fire Nation vessel, and, even though he was a prisoner, he actually felt a surge of contentment at being among his people and culture. In that moment he now thought he understood a little of what made Zuko side with Azula. A part of him wondered if those with the Avatar could understand this feeling yet he hoped they would never have to.

Zuko watched his uncle's back as he was lead to his cell. A part of himself raged harder against his control than it had been doing so constantly since the caves. He thought back to his words to the waterbender. _I_ _have changed._ Had he, and if so was it the change he thought? He had originally intended to fight Azula, but he wanted them out of the way. Thus he attacked the Avatar to try and run him off. He'd not expected the boy to stay and fight. Most of their encounters had ended with the boy and his friends fleeing after a brief struggle that left him delayed from pursuing. But as he fought the boy he began to realize how much of a threat he could be. Even after everything his father had done to him, he still couldn't bring himself to let that boy kill Ozai. After all there was no other way the Fire Lord would accept defeat. Right now, Zuko could only think that he had to find a way to convince his father to stop.

"Zuko, I do wish you wouldn't bother with feeling any remorse for that traitor. Such acts do not become a Fire Nation royal." Azula said haughtily.

A sage made his way up to Azula and bowed lowly. He said, "The preparations are complete, your highness. We can proceed whenever you wish."

That smile from earlier was back on her face, and Zuko had to restrain a shudder. She said, "Come this way, Zuko. It's time for that surprise I told you about."

He slowly followed her with the sage trailing behind. He was brought to a room with six other sages standing around a circle of runes and symbols. Standing just inside the door to the room were a pair of Dai Li agents who pounced upon Zuko the moment he stepped through the door. In an instant his hands were bound followed by his feet. Soon he was glaring up at his sister from the floor in the center of the circle.

She smirked crouching in front of him, "Don't worry, Zuzu. I'm just going to ensure your loyalty. I do know how much you care for uncle, so I need to know that you'll not do anything stupid." She stood and turned to the lead sage. "Begin."

With a bow of his head, the sage took his place around the circle, holding a foot tall statue of a dragon. The seven sages were chanting in the old tongue. Zuko struggled against his binds, trying to get free, but most importantly trying to get at Azula. His anger was building quickly, but as he managed to get on his feet pain shot through his body. He let out a soul wrenching scream as an unusual tearing feeling filled his entire body. The last thing running through his mind was a surreal sensation of falling backwards and forwards at the same time.

Four pairs of eyes suddenly burst open as a terrible scream reached them although three of them were nowhere near its origin. A twelve-year-old boy sat up in the bed he was recuperating in, eyes scanning for the source. An old bearded man on a hill looked up at the sky, feeling the agony traveling on a spiritual wind. He began to fear what this meant for the coming times. A young woman, having recently fifteen, turned to the northeast. She couldn't explain what had happened. One second she was bending at the pools, and then the water fell as she was struck by pain throughout her body and a scream sounded from somewhere deep in her mind.

Iroh's eyes narrowed suspiciously as he muttered, "Something's just not right."


	2. The Test

Disclaimer: Avatar: the last Airbender doesn't belong to me.

Chapter 2: The Test

Katara was walking up the steps from the small pools she'd been bending at for most of the afternoon. She saw Toph lazing over on a piece of debris from a wall that she had reshaped into a small lounge chair. Sokka was off trying to find something to eat other than fruits and vegetables. As he had said, he _needed_ meat, and although they wouldn't be nearly as dramatic as Sokka, both Toph and Katara couldn't deny that it would be nice. She turned to see Guru Pathik sitting at the ledge looking out at the horizon. His expression was one of concern. She'd not seen him look like this since checking over Aang to see if his spirit was okay.

She walked over and sat beside him. She asked, "What's the matter?"

He sighed and answered, "I'm afraid I've sensed that something is happening that I thought and truly hoped would never happen again. Something that hasn't happened for over a century."

"Guru, I…I felt a kind of surge of pain rip through my body a little while ago." She said, placing her hands over her heart. Quietly she continued, "I can still feel a bit of pain inside, an…empty pain."

Pathik raised a bushy eyebrow as he looked at her. He smiled, telling her that it had been a natural reaction to the spiritual outcry due to her compassionate nature. He pointed down the hillside toward Sokka, indicating that the boy could use some help with his catch. He watched as she got up and ran toward the path that would take her to her brother. Pathik smiled as he stroked his beard. This bit of information could become terribly interesting, especially for a guy who'd lived on that mountain for practically a century.

He glanced up toward Aang's window and felt another sigh coming on. This was going to be hardest on the young Avatar, but soon enough he wouldn't have a choice. Aang would have to learn the truth.

A group consisting of five members of the Fire Nation Royal Procession stood before the door to the cell with the once great General Iroh inside. The door opened to present the portly elder, already cuffed by two of the brig's guards. He looked at the masked soldiers calmly, though a little suspiciously. It was rather ironic that these men had once been under _his_ command less than a decade ago.

The lead soldier bowed, "General, we are here to escort you onto deck. Princess Azula has ordered your presence this evening."

Iroh raised an eyebrow. "Lt. Xiao, is that you?"

The man nodded, "It's captain now actually. Kira is onboard too, likely on deck."

"Is she really?" Iroh replied, "Hmm, I take it she is still as she was then?"

Xiao smirked behind the mask, "Still as flighty as ever when she's not on duty."

Iroh chuckled, "Yes, well we'd best get going. It's not exactly healthy to keep my niece waiting too long."

The soldiers took their positions around him, and the six began their way up toward the main deck of the ship. It only took a matter of minutes before they came out into view of three things. The first was a magnificent sunset that he would have enjoyed very much, even more so if he'd also a warm cup of tea, had he not been a prisoner. The second was the long rows of the procession against the railing. Lastly were Azula, her two friends, and a fire sage standing in front of an armored soldier kneeling with his back to Iroh. The soldiers escorting him moved back out of the way after a bow to Azula, Xiao unleashing the manacles and whispering an apology.

Azula spoke with her usual disgust for him and her menacing calmness, "_Uncle_, you may find this surprising but I need your help with something."

"As I remember, asking help from your prisoners was not common practice. And why would you believe that I would help you, especially after what you've done?"

She gave that smirk that almost sent a shudder down his spine. She said, "I'm not _asking_ for your help. As for why, well lets just say you won't have much of a choice. I need to test my newest recruit, and I've decided to have him face you in combat."

"Your newest…" Iroh trailed off as he began to realize who it was in the armor.

The man stood, and turned to face Iroh. The helmet was different than was usual, a kind of cross between Zuko's old helmet and the type worn by the Royal Procession. It had the three-point flame, but the faceplate was angled, fitted more for the face, with two short air slits. The eyeholes, only two rather than the procession's three, were narrowed giving a menacing look. Iroh gazed on as the man brought his had up and slid the faceplate off to reveal the scarred face of his nephew.

As he looked closer he saw the cold vacant look in Zuko's eyes. The usual fire in them was gone. He demanded, "What have you done to him!"

Azula replied, "I given him what he's wanted for years. The one thing that will make him worth anything, strength." She walked over to an ornate chair that had been set out for her. "Well part of him is strong now. We had to replace his soul with an artificial one. Actually you should feel happy. This wouldn't have been possible without looking to another nation's research."

"Who would possibly research some heinous, barbaric procedure such as this?"

She gave a devilish smile, and asked, "Do you really want to know?"

His eyes narrowed, "Tell me who could be as cruel as you."

"The Air Nomads."

"What?" Iroh gasped.

"Our troops came across a number of scrolls and a even few samples, a couple of their unused prototypes. Of course, they weren't trying to create fighters. Instead, some of them considered themselves worthy of learning other forms of bending including our superior art. They wished to become avatars because they were so spiritually enlightened. Our sages have been working on this for years, and Zuzu has become our first success. The first two… _volunteers_ before him were altered much closer to the airbenders' style by adding the artificial souls to the one already in the body. Unfortunately, they suffered the same fate as any of subjects over a hundred years ago, an insanity that eventually killed them." Azula gave small sigh. "Such bothersome pests, but we've found the solution."

Iroh realized, "You removed Zuko's soul so that it wouldn't conflict with the artificial one, and cause the insanity."

Azula smiled, "Very good, you got that rather quickly. I have created the perfect soldier, an unfeeling fighting machine that will obey all my orders without question. Now Zuzu, attack Iroh."

Suddenly Iroh found his nephew's fist flying forward, launching a rather large fireball at him. He leaned to the side dodging just in time, but found a leg sweeping toward his head. He brought an arm up just in time to block, but the force still sent him crashing to the ground. He had no idea what he could do. This was Zuko, but at the same time it wasn't. He looked up to see the young man form a fire dagger, and then a longer flame blade emerged from the other side of his hand. Iroh momentarily found himself approving of the technique, but shook the feeling off as he remembered who that blade was for.

Zuko's body approached the elder man on the ground, and stopped just in front of him. He lifted his arm high above his head. Iroh gazed up, and saw the expressionless face. So this was the end? It was nothing like how he thought he'd leave this world, but then who could have ever imagined this? He closed his eyes preparing for the blow. He suddenly felt something similar to that unusual feeling hours before. His eyes snapped open to see one of the most peculiar sights he ever had.

Zuko's body had begun to swing down at Iroh, but the arm had been stopped. Standing over the former general was a bluish figure, grasping either arm of the would be executioner. They were struggling against the other, trying to ignore the pain the contact seemed to cause.

Iroh mentally noted, 'So the scar goes all the way to his spirit.'

The spirit form of Zuko shouted, "I've done a lot of things that I'm not proud of, but I won't allow anyone, especially myself, to kill uncle!"

As the spirit pushed back against the body, white light began to form around the points at which they were connected. Iroh's eyes bulged at the sight of the spirit's hands being drawn into the body. Fear and pain spread across the two identical faces, and they quickly jumped back from one another. They both staggered and then fell to their backs, the spirit fading from sight as it hit the deck.

Azula who sprung from her chair shouted in a near rage, "Get them out of my sight!" The guards came and seized both Iroh and Zuko's body taking them below deck. She then, with a flash of speed, had her hand wrapped with the front of the head sage's robe. She had regained some of her composure, but it was clear from her eyes that she was ready to kill. She asked, "I thought you said that it was ready? I suggest you explain what happened."

He gulped, "He was stopped, stopped by his own soul. I am not sure why it has remained in this realm rather than moving on to the next. When the two came in contact the soul tried to get back in to the body, and the souls briefly met. They began to feel the effects of the conflict inside. The soldier should be fine by morning, your majesty, but we will examine him just to be safe."

She released him and straightened her hair. She commented, "Very well, as long as we complete the tests by the time we reach home. I wish to surprise my father with the greatest weapon our nation has ever known."


End file.
